Acupuncture stimulation of the vision-related acupoint (Bl-67) increases c-Fos expression in the visual cortex of binocularly deprived rat pups.

Our previous study with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated that acupuncture stimulation of the vision-related acupoint, B1-67, activates the visual cortex of the human brain. As a further study on the effect of B1-67 acupuncture stimulation on the visual cortex, we examined c-Fos expression in binocularly deprived rat pups. Binocular deprivation significantly reduced the number of c-Fos-positive cells in the primary visual cortex, compared with that of normal control rat pups. Interestingly, acupuncture stimulation of B1-67 resulted in a significant increase in the number of c-Fos-positive cells in the primary visual cortex, while acupuncture stimulation of other acupoints less important for visual function had no significant effect on c-Fos expression in the primary visual cortex. The results suggest the possibility of vision-related acupoint (B1-67) having an influence over the activity of the primary visual cortex.